Cake Decorating

23 Pages·1.095 MB·English

by  The Great Courses

STARTUP LIBRARY
Cake Decorating
WITH JENNY MCCOY
Jenny McCoy
As a pastry chef with more than 10 years of
experience in some of the country’s finest
kitchens, Jenny McCoy has learned to transform
classic techniques into inventive and exceptional
desserts, many of which you’ll find in her book,
Desserts for Every Season. Jenny’s philosophy on
baking is simple: By combining the best ingredients
available and a personal creative touch, anyone
can expand their repertoire to create expertly
refined recipes and original pastries with ease.
A truly approachable expert, Jenny’s detailed
lessons are both inviting and inspiring.
www.craftsy.com
STARTUP LIBRARY: Cake Decorating
with Jenny McCoy
Tools & Equipment
Buying Guide Tips
While there are specialty cake supply stores in many large
cities, the cake tools used in this class are readily available
at big-box craft stores as well as online and each can
be purchased for less than $5-10 (except hand mixer).
For beginners, you can choose any brand you prefer, as
general use will not vary greatly. If you get very interested
in cake decorating, you may want to consider investing
in a few more expensive tools, including a heavy-duty
turntable and stand mixer.
Cake Baking & Construction
Before you start the cake construction process, you will need:
• Two baked 8-inch (20-cm) cake layers (recipe included)
• One batch Swiss meringue buttercream (recipe included)
Tools for Baking & Buttercream Making
• Mixing bowls and spoons
• Liquid and dry measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Sifter
• Parchment paper
• 8-inch (20-cm) cake pans
• Hand mixer (or stand mixer)
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Tools & Equipment
Tools for Cake Construction
• Serrated bread knife
• Large offset spatula
• Small offset spatula
• Bench scraper
• Cardboard cake rounds
• Turntable
Decorating With Buttercream
Before you get started, you will need a cake that has been
stacked, filled, and frosted with Swiss meringue buttercream.
Additional Materials
• Gel colors of choice
General Kitchen Tools
• Pastry brush
• Rubber spatula
• Parchment paper
Cake Decorating Tools
• Small offset spatula
• Piping bags (disposable or cloth)
• Piping tips (Ateco tips used in class)
• Round: 800, 802, 804, 806
• Star: 820, 822, 824, 826
• Petal: 104
• Leaf: 352
• Flower nail
Decorating With Fondant
Before you get started, you will need a cake that has been
stacked, filled and frosted with Swiss meringue buttercream.
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Tools & Equipment
Additional Materials
• Pre-made fondant
• Gel colors of choice
• Powdered sugar
• Edible marker (as seen in Lesson 13)
General Kitchen Tools & Supplies
• Large rolling pin
• Small paring knife or craft knife
• Toothpicks
• Disposable vinyl gloves (optional)
• Small paintbrush
Cake Decorating Tools
• Small fondant rolling pin
• Two fondant smoothers
• Ateco alphabet cutters (optional)
• Piping tips or other small circle cutters
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Recipes
Vanilla Cake
Yield: Makes two 8 x 2-inch (20 x 5-cm) cake layers
Ingredients
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3¼ cups (360 g) cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces or 230 g)
unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1¾ cups (350 g)
granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups (10 fluid ounces
or 300 ml) buttermilk
• 5 large eggs
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Lightly coat two 8 x
2-inch (20 x 5-cm) round cake pans with nonstick cooking
spray and line with parchment paper. Lightly coat the
parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside
until ready to use.
2. On a piece of parchment paper or over a bowl, sift the
cake flour. Set aside until ready to use. If you would like, you
may also sift the baking powder and salt with the flour at
this time.
3. Using a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl
of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat
the butter and sugar on medium speed until completely
combined, light in color, and no lumps of unmixed butter
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Recipes
remain, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl
and continue to mix until smooth, about 1 minute.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix on medium speed
until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and
continue to mix until smooth, about 30 seconds.
5. Add the vanilla and mix until smooth, again, about
30 seconds.
6. Reduce the speed of the mixer and add about a third of
the dry ingredients, alternating with half of the buttermilk.
Repeat with the dry ingredients and buttermilk, adding
slowly to the bowl, and mix until they are fully combined.
You will end by adding the last third of the dry ingredients.
7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix until
smooth, about 30 seconds.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake
pans and knock the pans on the table firmly to remove any
large air bubbles. Place the pans on the center rack of the
oven and bake until they are light golden brown, the sides
pull away from the cake pans, and a toothpick inserted
into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 to
55 minutes. Carefully rotate the cake pans in the oven after
baking about 30 minutes to ensure even cooking.
Chocolate Cake Variation
Substitute ½ cup (55 grams) of the cake flour for cocoa powder.
Proceed with the recipe as directed, sifting the flour and cocoa
with the other dry ingredients and adding to the cake batter
with the other dry ingredients.
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Recipes
Doctored Box Cake Mix
Yield: Makes two 8-inch (20-cm) layers
Ingredients
• 1 box yellow or white cake mix
(do not use mixes with pudding added to them)
• 4 large (120 gram) egg whites
• ½ cup (120 grams) water
• 1⁄3 cup (80 grams) vegetable oil
• 1 small package (28 grams) of instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup (240 grams) sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Preparation
1. Follow the mixing and baking directions as listed on the
box, adding the pudding mix in with the cake mix and the
remaining ingredients in with the wet ingredients.
Chocolate Doctored Box Cake Variation
Substitute the instant vanilla pudding mix with chocolate
pudding mix and follow the recipe as directed.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Makes 6 cups (1.5 kg)
Ingredients
• 8 large egg whites
• 2½ cups (560 g) granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 sticks (675 g) unsalted butter, softened
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Recipes
Preparation
1. Combine the egg whites,
sugar, and salt in a large
heat-proof bowl (or the
bowl of a stand mixer), and
set over a double boiler
with simmering water.
Be sure the level of the
simmering water is below
the bottom of the bowl.
2. Whisking constantly by hand, heat the mixture until hot to
the touch, approximately 160° F (71° C). Carefully remove
the bowl from the double boiler and using a hand mixer
(or transfer the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with the whip
attachment), whip the mixture on medium speed until very
thick, glossy, and cooled to room temperature, about 10
minutes. As the mixture thickens, slowly increase the mixer to
its highest speed.
3. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and add the softened
butter, If your butter is not very soft, you’ll want to add it one
stick at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, increase
the speed of the mixer to high, and whip until the mixture is
thickened and completely smooth, about 10 minutes.
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
With the mixer set on low speed, slowly pour 11 ounces
(320 g) chopped dark chocolate, melted and cooled to room
temperature, into the buttercream as soon as the frosting is
smooth. Continue to mix on high speed until the frosting
is smooth.
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Guide to Piping Tips
Piping tips are plastic or metal tubes that you attach into a
piping bag to shape or texture your buttercream frosting as
it is pushed through the tip. They may also be called pastry
tips, piping nozzles, or even decorating tips. They come in a
variety of shapes and sizes and are often referred to by their
shape as well as a number. While numbers may differ among
manufacturers, some piping tips, including small round and star
tips, often share the same numbers. For example, a No. 6 round
tip is a piping tip with a small opening about 5⁄32 inch wide.
Some of the most common shapes include:
Round
These tips vary from very small (less than 1⁄16
inch) to up to large (nearly a ½ inch wide).
They produce a rope of smooth icing when
piped. Smaller tips can be used for outlining
details, writing messages, and creating
strings, lace, vines, and small dots. Larger tips
can be used to create kisses, dots, balls, and
bead borders. Very large tips can be used to
create swirls of icing on top of cupcakes.
Star
Star tips come “open” or “closed.” Open star
tips (left) have tapered opening with a sharp,
clean zigzag pattern resembling teeth at the
end. Closed tips bend those teeth in slightly
to make the opening a bit smaller and the
star more pronounced. Like round tips, star
tips can be used to create star kisses and
bead borders, but they also can be used to
pipe shells, shell borders and rosettes. Very
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